Journal-box lid.



G. A. WOODMAN.

JOURNAL BOX LID.

APPLICATION HLED DEC.9. I912.

1,1 9 1,263. Pdtented Jul 'ls, 1916.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. WOODMAN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 'I'O KIBIBY EQUIPMENTCOMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

JOURNAL-BOX LID.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. VVooDMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in J ournal-Box Lids, ofwhich the following is a specification. v

My invention relatesto journal box lids of the kind which areparticularly adapted for use on railway car journal boxes.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a dust-prooflid for journal boxes which will be simple in construction, cheap tomanufacture and serviceable in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a lid with meansalso of simple construction for automatically and yieldingly holding thelid in open and closed positions, the parts of this means being soconstructed and arranged that they may be readily assembled and securedin place without the use of bolts, rivets or other permanent 0rauxiliary fastening devices A still further object of the invention isto provide means for performing the functions hereinbefore describedwhich will be arranged within the lid so that they will be protectedfrom rust and other damage by objects falling from the car and strikingagainst them.

Additional objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as itis better understood from the following description which taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing discloses one preferredembodiment thereof.

On the drawing: Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional viewthrough a journal box and lid constructed in pursuance with myinvention, and Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the lid shown in Fig. 1.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown a journalbox10, which may be of any preferred form or construction, having anopening 11 at its outer end and a lug 12 upon its top wall 13. Throughan.aperture in this lug is positioned a pintle 14 upon which a lid 15 ispivotally mounted. This pivotal mounting is accomplished in the presentinstance by providing upon the lid 15 a housing 16 extending upwardlyfrom the lip 15 and partially embracing the lug 12. In each side of thehousing 16 is provided a suitable aperture (not shown) Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented July 18, 1916.

Application filed December 9, 1912. Serial No. 735,669.

through which the pintle 14 extends. Intermediate the ends of the lug 12are formed an upper inclined bearing face 17 and a front bearing face18, the latter being disposed substantially vertically, and the twofaces intersecting as at 19.

Upon the lid 15 is formed the housing 21, and between this housing andthe free edge of the lid 22 adjacent the housing 16 is provided aninwardly extending keeper 23, the aperture in the keeper being disposedat right angles to the pivotal connection between the lid and box.Within the keeper an end 25 of a member 24 is disposed. The member 24 ispreferably formed of a flat metallic strip which may be either rigid orelastic as desired. The other end 26 of the member 24 is extended abovethe top of the surface 18 of the lug 12, and the ends 25 and 26 areangularly disposed with respect to each other as seen at 27 to permitthe end 25 to be disposed substantially parallel to the main portion ofthe inner face of the lid 15. The end 25 is provided at its extremitywith an inwardly disposed lip 28, and upon opposite faces of the memberare formed the reinforcing ribs 29 and 30 disposed longitudinallythereof. The rib 29 terminates adjacent the lug 23, and the end of thisrib cooperates with the lip 28 to prevent endwise movement of the memberwhen the parts are assembled. The rib 30 in the pres ent embodiment ofthe invention extends the entire length of the member, and the rib 29from the lug 23 to the inner surface of the top wall of the box 13.Disposed between the end 25 of the member 24 and the end wall of thehousing 21 is provided a coiled spring 31 positioned in compressedcondition. The connection between the lug 23 and the member 24 is apivotal connection,

as the aperture in the keeper 23 is materially larger than the end ofthe member positioned therein. The spring 31 acting upon the member 24produces in the member 24 a tendency to revolve about the lug 23 so thatthe end 26 of the memberis at all times pressed away from the lid andinto firm yielding engagement with the lug 12 of the box.

When the parts are assembled as hereinbefore described it will beapparent that the end 26 in pressing against the substantially verticalface 18 of the lug 12 will yieldingly press the lower edge of the lid 15inwardly.

in the direction of the box, and that to open the boX it will benecessary when the end 26 moves over the intersection19 of the faces 17and 18 that this end be moved again-st the force of the spring 31 towardthe lid and that when the end lies upon the upper face 17 of the lug 12it may assume substantially the position it has when the lid is inclosed position as shown upon the drawing It will be manifest that a lidequipped with the spring-pressed member hereinbefore described will beyieldingly retained in both open and closed positions, the degree ofresistance to the movement of the lid aflorded by the constructiondescribed being of course dependent upon the force of the spring and theelasticity of the member.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing without further description, andit will be obvious that vari ous changes may be made in the form,construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention, the form hereinbefore described beingmerely one preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim The combination of a journal boX having a lug formed thereon, alid pivotally connected to said lug and provided with a keeper extendinginwardly from said lid, a rigid member having a hooked end extendingthrough and resting in'said keeper and the other end overlying said lug,and a spiral spring interposed between the inner face of said lid andsaid member adjacent said keeper for pressing said member away from saidlid and into engagement with said lug, whereby the lid is automaticallyand yieldingly held in open and closed positions.

GEORGE A. VVOODMAN.

Witnesses:

WM. Q. BELT, M. A. KIDDIE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patenta Washington, D. 0.

